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Sunday, February 17, 2008

Technically, in every episode of The Simpsons that begins with the un-abbreviated intro, Milhouse appears. So too does Nelson, Dr. Hibbert, and even Maude Flanders, who overcomes the considerable handicap of being dead.

I speak of a brief section of the intro that occurs directly between Marge and Maggie’s simultaneous horn-honking and the arrival at Casa de Simpson that segues into the weekly couch gag. The camera pans away from Marge’s car and, if only for a few seconds, over a Springfield panorama, featuring various characters. It’s pretty hard to see the whole of it with the naked eye, and it wasn’t until the arrival of the Simpsons DVDs a few years back that I could actually see who was there by scanning frame-by-frame. For whatever reason, I was suddenly motivated last week by the urge to reproduce this scene in full in a way other people could see by Photoshopping the frames together. The result is below.

I like how this image, jagged edges though it might have, presents a cool Simpsons landscape that most people haven’t ever gotten a chance to appreciate, despite “seeing” it every time they watch the show. I’m also struck by the strangeness of who actually appears: It’s a mishmash of familiar regulars, anonymous background characters, characters who once were prominent on the show but are no longer, and finally characters that I don’t think ever appeared on the show, to my knowledge.

Here they are, in order of appearance, starting at the left at moving right, more or less.

Some anonymous girl

Some yokel-looking boy

Milhouse, throwing a baseball, despite his established suckiness at sports

A blonde, pig-tailed girl who is Bart’s class but has no name

The two look-a-like thugs who initially henched for Nelson in “Bart the General” but have more or less vanished from the show. (Wikipedia says their names are Weasel #1 and Weasel #2.)

See? A weird bunch. But it’s here now. I suppose that I’m not the first to do this, but I couldn’t find any evidence of previous efforts online. (Admittedly, it’s not the easiest thing to Google.) However, I don’t see anything like it up on the Wikipedia page for the Simpsons opening sequence, which, not surprisingly, exists. So as far as my limited research has told me, this is a first.

I am obsessed with the groovy "girl with green glasses who is in Bart’s class but has never been named"! I think she's the coolest for some reason and would love to see an entire show devoted to her!! Truth be told, I play a secret drinking game where I take a gulp if she's shown.

I could not agree more. I LOOOOOOOVE the " girl with green glasses." Wan't some trivia about her? She has an actual name "Adrian" Wendel the kid who always throws up has a crush on her , Her hair is blue but often changes to brown red or even white her clothes color changes as well because her appearance is not finalized because she is a background character. She had a very very brief speaking role in " Bart sells his soul" in which she says my soul is my best friend. She is also friends with the blonde pig tailed girl Nina Skalka. In one episode Homer chases her , Sherri , Terri , Janey and Nina trying to tickle them or something I can't remember.

Actually, Anonymous, I've noticed her for a long time too. She's been there since the beginning, looking like an old yearbook photo, but as far as I know, she hasn't ever spoken a line.

Reading the Wikipedia list of minor recurring Simpsons characters associated with Springfield Elementary, I learned the girl with the blonde pigtails is named Melissa, which I have no recollection of ever hearing on the show.

Strange, these minor, minor characters who we've seen in the background for years but have yet to do anything.

Your ideas are intriguing to me, and I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

But you seem to have missed one character: 4th person from the left, the blue-afro kid directly above Milhouse, nearly hidden behind a rolling hill. Maybe he's from the circus: he appears to be tight-rope walking back there. Whatever his deal is, I don't recall ever seeing him on the show. Ah, the mysteries that accumulate when a brilliant show runs for nearly 20 years.